Dh50,000 fine for dealing with property 'freelancers'

Although hundreds of advertisements are still published across newspapers and websites by “unregistered” agents, Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) is now taking the matter seriously by issuing a warning to real estate agencies to stop dealing these “freelancers” or face a fine of Dh50,000 for violation.

The real estate watchdog has also called upon media organisations to stop publishing adverts of these “unregistered” agents.

“We are imposing Dh50,000 fines on real estate companies that co-operate with freelancers. With the co-operation from our brokers, we have reduced the number of freelancers. We even made sure that no freelancer is allowed to transfer properties in land department,” Sultan Al Suwaidi, Section Manager at the Real Estate Permits and Inspection Section of Rera, told 'Emirates24|7'.

“But we need the co-operation from newspapers and other media outlets. If they do not allow freelancer to advertise, we can put an end to this easily.”

Al Suwaidi emphasized that number of unregistered brokers advertising online and through newspapers have declined over the years.

“When we come across any unregistered broker advertising, we send a legal notice to the company and allow them to register within five days. If the company fails to register the broker, we fine them.”

He clarified that the fines are imposed on companies that deal with freelancers. Department of Economic Department and Ministry of Labour deal with the individual who operates without a license and without proper residency documentation.

In December, Rera said it had issued warnings to 23 brokerage firms for breaching rules for advertisement in the media. The companies did not indicate their registration numbers issued by RERA in the advertisements published in newspapers, magazines and websites or distributed via e-mails, RERA said in a statement.

Al Suwaidi confirmed that all the companies had adhered to RERA rules.
He advised investors to check the broker registration number and the office registration number issued by Rera while dealing with agents.

“We issue awareness notes and campaign to inform investors not to deal with unregistered agents.”